Protected vegetable fibrous material and method of making the same



Uii WIUU PROTECT iii SAIVIE VEGE'Ema EAL AND .METHOD 01F I George H. Ellis, New Brighton, Minn., assignor to The-Insullte Company, Minneapolis, Minn a con-ration of Minnesota No Drawing. Original application February 17.

1936, Serial No. 64,376.

Divided and this applicatlon August 19, 1936, Serial No. 96,821

6 Claims.

method-of making.

Fabricated vegetable material'may be of any form or type and may be made of many diil'erent varieties ofvegetable bers. One of the most common forms of fabrics ed vegetable materials is the wall board.

In manufacturing fabricated vegetable fiber material, there is mixed therewith a group of substances which cooperate to protect it against both decay and insects, such as termites, and render it highly resistant to moisture.

An object of the invention is the manufacture of felted vegetable fiber products that have no objectionable odor and that can be made in a relatively inexpensive manner whereby the products will have a superior biological resistance.

A further objectoi' the invention is the production of'a rot-proof, insect-repellent and water-resisting product by a single treatment.

This invention comprehends the use of mate- 'rial or materials having toxic properties that are non-poisonous to human beings and that are devoid of objectionable odor and/or color.

It is preferred that tetrachloraphenate or a chlorinated phenol be used as the toxic agent but various other materials have been found to be satisfactory. Among the materials that have given satisfactory results are:

Inhibiting concen- Chemical tration, per cent 0. 0.004 plus or minus. 0 001 A toxic containing material having the properties of rendering vegetable fiber material insect and fungi toxic is incorporated in the product to be protected. For the purpose of this application it has been elected to set forth certai'n methods .of applying the tox c material to wood or woody substance but it is to be understood that they are set forth for illustrative purposes only, and

are not to be accorded any interpretation such as might have the effect of limiting what is claimed as the invention short of its true and comprehensive scope in the art.

0:004 plus or minus.

In the general practice of manufacturing fibrous products, such as wall board, building board and insulating board, the fibers are suspended in water in the proportion of 1 parts of fiber to 98% parts of water. The percentages 6 may be varied in the range of 4 parts of fiber to 96 parts of water. The toxic agent prepared as hereinafter described is well adapted to be used in fungi, insect and water-proofing manufactured fibrous products. It is contemplated to 10 treat various products during or prior to formation into eventual production, whereby the treatment is equally effective throughout the entire body. It is also contemplated that the treatment may beapplied to any product subject to 1 attack by insects. 4 I

It has been found that zinc tetrachlorophenate when used in combination with a sizing material renders fiber composition insulating board and the like, rot and termite proof and greatly reduces the tendency of such material to absorb moisture.

It has been discovered that by adding zinc chloride to a solution of chlorinated phenol that the-chlorinated phenol is rendered insoluble in 25. water and produces a jelly-like mass which is very difilcult to emulsiiy. Such emulsion is very difficult to spread over vegetable fibers during the manufacture of fibrous materials.

To overcome this diificulty and to reduce the quantity of toxic agent which has been found necessary to termite and rot proof vegetable. fiber insulation boards and the like, it has been discovered that by dissolving a sizing material such as wood rosin soap in water to a concentration "point'of approximately 4% solids, and a tetrat fibrous material until the fibers are thoroughly coated. Zinc chloride is then dissolved in water to a suitable concentration, preferably about 2% solids, and added to the pulp in amount of about 0.25%, then thoroughly mixing the zinc chloride with-the pulp or fibrous material and thereafter adding a precipitant to obtain a. pH of approximately 5.4. The precipitant may be any Search noon 61,654 g lid that is desired, and 1w. or ferric chloride have been found to be the st econocal to use.

The sizing material used and the toxic agent used are both alkaline and mix together readily, and they have the properties of spreading thinly over a large surface. This enables all the fibers to be readily coated with a solution of the toxic material. The zinc chloride is added to set the toxic agent on the fibers and renders the toxic material insoluble. The alum is then added to precipitate the sizing material. The result is that the fiber composition board or product is rendered resistant to water and extremely insect and rot resisting.

Specifically by way of example: 1. Dissolve ill-it of wood rosin soap in water to a dilution of d% solids. 2. Dissolve ass of tetrachlorophenate in water to a dilution of 4% solids. 3. Dissolve 1.6%: of uric chloride in water to a dilution of approximately 2% solid. d. Dissolve alum in water to a saturated solution. 5. Mix the solutions 1 and 2 and add to vegetable fiber material in a water bath so that a 1,000 square foot of inch material will contain 10# of rosin size and l.h# of tetrachlorophenate, or about 1.48% of rosin size and about of tetrachlorophenate, based upon the dry weight of the vegetable fibers. Solution 5 is thoroughly mixed with the vegetable pulp and then solution 3 is added to obtain about l.6# of zinc choride or about of zinc chloride, based on the dry weight of the fibers. After thoroughly miidng the fibers containing the solutions 3 and 5, there is added a sufilcient amount of i or other precipitant to obtain a pH within the range of {it to 5.8.

The best results are obtained by using 1 part of the tonic agent or its equivalent to .8 part oi zinc chloride. To obtain the best results the zinc chloride may vary within the range of .2 part to .4 part to one part of the toxic material. The amount of zinc in other words, should be varied according to the alkalinity of the toxic material.

Broadly, the invention comprehends the production of vegetable fiber products that are rendered insect and fungi toxic and resistant to water in a rapid and economical manner. It is desired that the product so produced shall not have any objectionable odor and/or color. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations of steps and combinations of steps constituting the process and the product produced may be made which falls in the scope oi the invention without departing from the spirit thereof.

alienate The term. precipitant as used herein is intended to cover any material which will precipitate the sizing material used in the process. The term toxic material-as used herein, is intended to cover any toxic material having inhibiting concentration within the range of nor to .097. Any suitable metal chioride maybe used but the most economical results so far have been obtained by using zinc chloride.

This application is a division of my application, Serial No. 64,376, died February it, 1936.

What 1 claim is:

lit

1. The method of producing water-resisting,

insect and fungi toxic, felted, vegetable fiber prodnote which includes the stem of mixing water soluble chlorinated phenol with rosin size, adding the mixture to vegetable fibers in a water bath, adding zinc chloride to insolubilize the phenol, and then adding alum.

2. The method of making felted, vegetable, fiha rous material which homprises adding a solution oi 4.9 parts of water soluble, chlorinated phenol and it parts oi resin to fibers in a water bath, adding 1.6 parts of zinc chloride, and then adding a saturated solution of alum, and felting the librous product.

3. A fabricated vegetable fiber product having distributed throughout the body thereof, an insect and fungi toxic substance comprising the reaction product of a Water soluble, chlorinated phenol and zinc chloride and a rosin size precipitated by alum,

d. The method of producing water-resisting, insect and iungitoizlc, vegetable fiber products whichincludes mixing water soluble chloro-phenol with rosin siaing material, adding the mixture to fibers in a water bath, adding zinc chloride hit in an amount only to insolubilize the phenol, and

thereafter adding alum to obtain a phi within the range oi as to 5.8.

5. The method of producing water-resisting,

suficient to insolubilize the pentachlorophenol' adding alum, and forming the product.

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